Why Hillary Clinton Has Nothing to Be 'Sorry' About

In an emotional concession speech on Wednesday morning, Hillary Clinton, the first female presidential nominee of a major party, apologized to her supporters for not making it over the finish line. And “sorry” is a rare word for a presidential candidate to include in their concession speech.

“This is not the outcome we wanted or we worked so hard for and I’m sorry that we did not win this election for the values we share and the vision we hold for our country,” Clinton said.

Motto reviewed the concession speeches from the losing presidential candidates over the past 20 years, and Clinton’s apology is unusual. In fact, only one other candidate explicitly apologized. In 2004, Democratic nominee John Kerry, who was defeated by President George W. Bush, apologized — but primarily for being a little over an hour late to his concession speech. “I’m sorry that we got here a little bit late and a little bit short,” Kerry said.